August 6

Legal History

By Karen Conti

Karen Conti is a litigation attorney and owner of ContiLaw LLC. She is a regular legal commentator on CNN and the local Fox affiliate. She hosts a radio show every Sunday on WGN AM 720 from 7 to 9 p.m. to discuss current legal events and to answer listeners’ questions.

Posted August 6, 2020 11:01 AM

1890William Kemmler, convicted of murder in New York, becomes the first person executed by electric chair.1912Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party convenes at the Chicago Coliseum. The former Republican president formed the party to take on incumbent GOP President William Howard Taft.

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Courts split on correct venue for subpoena battle

When a non-party located in New Hampshire challenged a subpoena duces tecum that called for production of documents in Las Vegas, the first hurdle was a venue question that has “befuddled attorneys and split courts.”
By Steven P. Garmisa
Nonprofit proposes safe injection site for opioid abusers, claims sacred right

Threatened with criminal prosecution if it opens up a “safe injection site” for people struggling with opioid abuse, a nonprofit Pennsylvania corporation claimed protection under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and First Amendment.
By Steven P. Garmisa
CTA defeats ask for 9 figures in catastrophic injury case

Attention-grabbing headlines of so-called nuclear verdicts are everywhere. There is obvious benefit to the individual plaintiffs’ attorney who obtains such a verdict to publicize it. But there is also benefit to the plaintiffs’ bar as a whole as to the value of similar cases that can be used to extract hefty settlements from defendants.
By Patrick Eckler
Courts split on overtime ‘gap time’ claims

There’s a 1-1 tie in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal on the validity of “overtime gap time claims” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
By Steven P. Garmisa
Court mulls over timing for stock option damages

Gautam Shah persuaded a California jury that Skillz Inc. falsely claimed it had cause to terminate his employment in 2018 and then used this pretext to block him from exercising stock options worth more than $11.5 million when the company went public in 2020.
By Steven P. Garmisa
Further analysis ordered in case involving cash-out merger

In a case involving a cash-out merger that was governed by Delaware’s “entire fairness” standard, the Illinois Appellate Court instructed a trial judge to consider the equitable remedy of “rescissory damages” as an alternative to compensatory damages.
By Steven P. Garmisa
Does Constitution come into play in Oregon homelessness appeal?

Homelessness in many U.S. cities has become a major issue. In an Oregon city, the municipality addressed the issue by an ordinance that fined the homeless for using blankets, pillows or cardboard boxes for protection while sleeping within city limits. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in the matter.
By Daniel A. Cotter
Defendants attack assignment as champertous

When one of the plaintiffs in an antitrust case against turkey processors assigned its claim to a third party, the defendants argued the transfer was invalid as “champertous” under Illinois law. But U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall of the Northern District decided “federal common law” should provide the answer.
By Steven P. Garmisa